Barbaro Incorporated
by JKrlin
Summary: A collection of extras and filler chapters taking place in "Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?" Latest chapter: A brief timeline.
1. Bomb Under the Seat

**Takes place after Chapter 2 of "Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?"**

 **X**

Enma entered a coughing fit, choked, and needed a few minutes until he could start breathing properly again.

Spitting smoky spit out of his mouth and into the snow, Enma sent a sullen look at Julie. "That was disgusting," Enma said sourly, still tasting the bitterness.

Julie merely smiled and jostled Enma's shoulder. "I did warn you," Julie said, puffs of smoke floating out from his lips as he spoke. "Just remember to not let Adel catch us. You'll probably get away fine, but for me, I just know that she'll –"

The sliding door behind Enma and Julie slid open quickly and made a foreboding echo when it slammed against the wall of the house. The two Simon kids froze into place as they sat on the steps of the back porch. Rigidly and fearfully, they turned their heads around to see Adel glowering offer them with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Enma could barely even see her eyes since they were shrouded in the shadows of her hair.

"This scent in the air is either a poorly though-out illusion," Adel growled slowly, "or a poorly though-out act of delinquency unbecoming of the future Simon Boss and his loyal Desert Guardian."

Enma shivered as the terror gripped his shoulders. Adel had warmed up a bit over the years, but she could still remind Enma of the days when the bullies made him so scared that he peed his pants. Adel's frightening displays came from love, at least. While Enma knew that she wasn't entirely malicious with her threatening tone, it was still pretty scary.

Faking a cool demeanor and wearing a flirtatious smile, Julie patted Enma's back and quickly disappeared. He was gone from the porch, leaving behind only his fedora that briefly spun in the air before promptly falling the ground. Adel, metal fans in her hands, was on his trail in an instant.

Woefully, Enma sighed and buried his head into his lap. He let the cigarette hanging between his fingers fall so that he could crush it under his shoe. It was always embarrassing when someone caught him and Julie engaging in "acts of delinquency." Once Adel was done disciplining and grilling Julie, Enma was definitely next.

A wide piece of fabric was suddenly draped over Enma. He sat up and saw that it was his burly trench coat. As Enma looked up, Mami winked at her older brother as she sat beside him. Dressed in her warm winter clothes with her red hair supplemented with the usual cherry hair clip, she held two cups of hot chocolate and handed one to Enma, which he took graciously and sipped from immediately.

"Bad call," Mami said with a smile. "The smoking, I mean. I tried it once. Everything I ate tasted bitter for a week." She drank some of her chocolate milk, too, letting off a satisfying breath afterward that took the form of white, breezy mist. "Anything with sweeteners or sugar in it – that's what always works for me. Maybe it'll work for you."

Enma's already tried. Candy and ice cream have long since lost their luster on Enma's sweet tooth. Still, since Mami was courteous enough to brew Enma a cup, he continued to drink without complaint.

The siblings sat together in silence for a while, watching snow gently drop from the cloudy sky. Enma wasn't all that used to snow. This was the first town of the three the Kozatos and the Simon Family has moved to over the past few years where there was consistent snow for more than a week. Enma was still forgetting to put on his warm clothes and to shut the windows. It was a miracle that no one in the Kozato house has gotten sick yet.

"So!" Mami abruptly spoke up. "Did dad say when he was coming back from his trip with the CEDEF guys this time?"

Enma shook his head. "Could be back tomorrow. Could be back next week. Until then, he wants us to 'lay low' and spend more time with the Tomaso Family heirs."

Mami's content countenance took a turn for the worse as she frowned and sighed tiredly. "Seriously? Is he seriously still pinning for our families to merge together, or is this supposed to be some sort of informal punishment?" Needless to say, Mami didn't like the Tomaso heirs all that much.

"They're alright, all things considered" Enma gave his two cents. No matter the circumstances, he always had to be honest with his sister. "They aren't very malicious people. They're just kind of cold and a little too selfish sometimes."

"Yeah, but you're not the trophy wife Naito's got his hands on," Mami deadpanned. "I'm pretty sure that if I still wasn't fourteen, dad would have had us married the second the Tomaso Boss suggested it."

"At least Longchamp asked for dad's blessing before asking you out," Enma said.

"Again, you're not the trophy wife. Hell, you're not even the trophy husband. Koyo got saddled with dating Pantera, and –"

Enma lightly slapped the back of his sister's head. "Watch your language," came the instinctive reprimand.

As she nursed her vaguely damaged skull, Mami pettily stuck her tongue out at Enma. "You cuss all the time with Julie and the other boys."

"They cuss. I don't."

"Then why don't you hit them?!"

"They aren't family."

That response made Mami pause. Enma hadn't planned to say that specifically, but he definitely didn't feel disingenuous when saying it.

"I mean they aren't Kozatos," Enma amended. "We have actual Simon blood in our veins. We shouldn't be so crass and careless with how we speak, even in our personal lives. We have to be more mindful and respectful with our language." Mom had battered that particular lesson into their heads a long time ago.

Mami folded her arms and looked away from Enma. "Vito knew when to speak respectfully and when to let loose with language," she muttered.

Now she was bringing Vito into the discussion. Previously, Enma was usually stunned into silence when she did that. Presently, Enma had a comeback ready to give.

However, the sliding door behind the siblings opened again. They turned to see Kaoru peeking through the slim opening he made. "The Tomasos are here," he reported quietly before swiftly closing the door.

"They're early," Enma commented offhandedly. He stood up and buttoned up his coat. Mami did the same as she pulled up the zipper for her jacket. They both downed the rest of their chocolate milk before they turned toward the door.

"… Vito also probably would've been able to subjugate the Tomaso heirs without having to go through these forced pairings and bullshit arranged marriages."

Enma tried hitting Mami again. She blocked him this time, but he also had a response to her claims about their old brother. "Stop using Vito as a justification for the things you've done and the things you want to do," Enma lectured. "You use him and mom as an excuse for everything nowadays. Don't dishonor their memory by saying their names so senselessly. You have to rationalize your actions more so by what you would do instead of what they would do."

"Don't tell me you don't do the same thing," Mami countered with a harsh hiss, "thinking about Mom and Vito. Even Adel still uses bonbons and brownies to broker favors with the Liquidation Committee."

Enma did think about "what ifs" often enough, though he had no plans of telling Mami about those thoughts at the moment. They were too distracting and depressing. For now, Enma needed to focus on the here and now. "Let's handle this business with the Tomasos first," he said. "Are you still up for doing it today? We don't know when dad will be back, and –"

"We've been putting it off for too long," Mami interrupted. She stepped into the house first. Enma followed her footsteps. "Our CEDEF buddy is also supposed to get here within the hour. We might as well get this done today."

The Tomaso heirs were in the living room with Enma's prospective Guardians. Longchamp, Rauji, and Koyo were seated on the sofa and playing some video game on the TV. Pantera, wearing another one of her pretty dresses, was sitting beside Koko with his arm slung over her shoulders. Lunga was strutting the strings on an electric guitar in one corner of the room with Kaoru doing the same.

The Tomaso butler, Mangusta, walked up to Enma and Mami and bowed reverently. "I hope you are both doing well, Master Kozato and Madame Kozato." He held up a gift basket, complete with wine, chocolate, and a little bow on the top. "The Tomaso Family expresses our deepest gratitude for the Simon Family hosting tonight's game night."

Enma wasn't totally averse to brownnosers, but he would have preferred Mangusta to at least be a little more conscious that the Kozato siblings didn't find his brownnosing very endearing. Regardless, Enma took the gift basket from Mangusta's hands. "Thank you," Enma politely said.

Longchamp jumped in his seat and weaved his hand exaggeratedly. "Mami-chan!" he screeched in an irritable voice.

Hiding a wince and forcing a smile, Mami waved back. "Champ-kun!" she replied as she hopped onto his lap.

While Mami chatted away with Longchamp, Enma was eyeing the wine bottle as he spoke to Mangusta. "This is my dad's favorite," Enma said. "How'd you know?"

"I've spoken to your father on behalf of Don Tomaso many times," Mangusta explained. "We both share many things. The same taste in wine, an appreciation for art." Mangusta gave a short smirk. "A desire to take vengeance on the Vongola Family."

Oh. Okay. The wine was both a gift and a segue for Mangusta to deliver another spiel about destroying the Vongola Family and all of its allies, everyone from the Chiavarone Family to CEDEF.

Well, Enma can improvise a segue well enough, as well. "My father is still bound by prior promises and agreements with CEDEF," Enma said. "Conspiring to betray and break those promises would not reflect lightly on either of our Families."

"That assumes failure on our part to defeat the Vongola," Mangusta pressed on. "You are a smart young man, Master Kozato, assisted by many smart, loyal family members such as Madame Kozato and Mistress Suzuki. Pooling your resources together with the Tomaso Family's manpower, Pantera's aptitude for killing, and the Desolation Bullet, we can make short work of at least the Vongola's CEDEF branch in due time."

"This is really business our respective bosses should be discussing," Enma remarked as he set down the gift basket and tossed the wine bottle up in his hand. "Why are you trying to talk me into forming a more open alliance?"

Mangusta continued to smirk. "Our bosses are getting on in the years. I have faith Longchamp will become a suitable boss in the future, but those days are far away from now. Any action taken against the Vongola requires more finesse than either of our Family heads are willing to execute. I believe you, on the other hand, already have the drive and the skill that will guarantee our success."

Enma could practically feel the moment to turn this situation around coming. Maybe it was the way that Mangusta was talking, with so much self-assurance and zeal, that was doing it. In the corner of his eye, Enma saw Mami promising to get Longchamp a drink. She sprung off his lap and walked behind the couch they were sitting on.

"What makes you so confident in me?" Enma questioned Mangusta.

Lowering his voice to speak more discreetly, Mangusta said, "While Don Simon is still preoccupied with the day-to-day management of his Familiy's business, the Flood of Blood incident surely must have inspired you to accomplish more than maintaining the status quo. You desire change for the better of your family. So do the Tomasos. Am I wrong?"

Enma tightened his grip on the wine bottle. "No, you're not," he said.

Swinging his arm around, Enma hit Mangusta's jaw with the bottle. Piece of glass and wine exploded into a million different directions. Enma didn't let up as he swung the broken bottle again, shattering it further and all but destroying Mangusta's left eye. When Mangusta tried to raise his arms to defend himself, Enma thrust the bottle forward, stabbing its jagged end into the butler's stomach.

Longchamp yelped in shock. He tried to jump out of his seat, but Rauji held onto Longchamp's arm and held him in place. Pantera reached across the couch to stab one of her knives into her cousin's knee. From behind Longchamp, Mami whipped out her garrote wire and wrapped it around his throat. She pulled back with Longchamp hopelessly resisting.

"Why?" Mangusta bloodily gasped as Enma stabbed him again. "Why are you doing this? We want the same things."

The butler's shaky knees finally lost control. His back hit the wooden floor as he cried out in pain. Enma forwent the bottle and reached into his trench coat. He pulled out the Simon Gauntlet replica his dad had given him. It fit perfectly in Enma's hand. Kneeling above Mangusta, Enma started punching.

Faintly, Enma noted that Kaoru and Lunga were still quietly playing with their guitars. Koyo took Pantera's place in restraining Longchamp's leg. The girl was now busy giving Longchamp a thousand bloody cuts all over his body with another knife.

Enma didn't know how long he spent burying his fists into Mangusta's face. He only stopped when he slowly realized that Adel was screaming into his ear and was trying to pull him back.

"Stop it, Enma!" begged Adel. "Mami, Koyo – I said stop it! Why are you killing the Tomaso Ottavo and his butler?"

"Why the fuck do you think we're doing this, Adel-chan?" Mami shot back at her, Longchamp's movements slowly dwindling in strength. "Come on. Give a guess. It's not too hard to figure out."

Mangusta's body started twitching. Breaking free of Adel's hold, Enma gave him a good kick across the face. When Enma turned to face Adel, she looked like she was going to envelop him in her arms again but halted mid-way when she saw the expression on his face.

Mami let out a dramatic sigh as she loosened her grasp over Longchamp. He stopped moving completely. Rauji and Koyo let go of him while Pantera continued to draw blood from Longchamp's body. "Oi, Julie!" Mami called out. Julie was present now, too, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. "Can you do something about the smell?"

"Of course," the Desert Guardian said frivolously. In a spilt-second, the air was altered by illusions and began to smell of bucatini, the same kind Vito secretly made for Enma and Mami behind their mom's back that one time and at the buffet.

It was oddly fitting. The last time this aroma was fresh to Enma's sense of smell was the same day Enma's seen this much blood in one sitting.

"What just happened?" Adel said quietly and slowly. Then, raising her voice with some degree of self-control, she repeated, "What just happened?! Enma, Mami – someone plainly explain to me what just happened and why you all but declared war against one of the few allies to the Simon Family?" Adel met Enma in the eye. "Why did you do this, Enma?"

Adel did deserve an explanation. "The Flood of Blood incident," Enma said. "We were a small family back then compared to the Tomaso Family. The Tomasos owned the city, and it was in that city where that Mist user killed Mami's and my mother."

"CEDEF and Makoto already agreed that the Tomaso Family were not at all willing accomplices to that murderer!" Adel said incredulously. "The Liquidation Committee did follow-up investigations. I looked into it myself. They are innocent."

"They didn't help the Mist user," Mami said as she walked away from her now dead ex-boyfriend to stand alongside Enma. "They didn't try to stop him either. They let him stroll into town and carry out a massacre. Maybe dad can forgive that, but we can't."

With a glare bearing down on Mami, Adel asserted, "That is not your call."

Enma was about to correct Adel and say that this attack against the Tomasos was a joint decision between both siblings, but Koyo beat him to the punch. "It is their call," he said as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away the bloodstains covering Pantera. "In the end, Enma's the future boss, Mami's the future underboss, and we're their Guardians and subordinates. Even if Longchamp wasn't an idiot, if they wanted him dead, then we make sure he drops dead."

Rauji, Kaoru, and Julie all nodded in agreement with Koyo. If Shitopi-chan wasn't off on a training trip into the mountains with dad's Swamp Guardian, Enma was sure she'd be doing the same.

"Then why wasn't I informed of this?" Adel asked as she narrowed her eyes. "I'm the head of the Liquidation Committee and the future consigliere. Why wasn't I told anything?" Adel met Enma's eyes again. "You know that if you talked honestly with me, I would have backed you one hundred percent of the way."

And Enma knew she would have. However, this was more than simply about Adel's loyalty to Enma. "Are you shocked that we went against an ally of the Simon Family," Enma asked, "or that we lost an ally who despises the Vongola Family?"

Adel stiffened. "I'm more shocked that you were willing to go through going against the wishes of your father," she admitted, "but yes, the Tomaso Family would have been very useful allies against the Vongola."

"That's where we start seeing things differently, Adel-chan," Mami declared. "The Vongola's not our enemy. Not anymore."

"They have always been our enemy," Adel said. "It's a centuries-long blood feud. They don't stop being our enemy until we slit the Vongola's throat and let it bleed dry." Enma shook his head disappointedly. She was always a steadfast believer that all of the Simon Family's miseries today stemmed from the original Vongola Family backstabbing the original Simon Family.

Mami laughed sarcastically. "Is this about the Vongola in general, or is it about Vito having Vongola blood in him? Are you still jealous of Vito being a better mob boss than you were back in the day?"

"Excuse me?"

The girls were going to get lost in another petty argument, so Enma stepped in. "I don't care about whatever Vongola Primo did to Cozarto Simon," he said. "Going to war with the Vongola won't help us any."

"It's the Vongola's fault that practically no one respects us!" Adel screeched.

"No!" Enma said with his own scream. "The Vongola barely had a presence in Japan until a few decades ago, and the Simon Family has been here for generations. It's our family's own fault and incompetence that we never took the initiative to earn the power and respect you desperately want for us, Adel."

Red with shock at Enma's outburst, Adel motioned to the dead bodies in the room. "How is killing a boss heir who respected us going to benefit the Simon Family?"

"In a lot of ways," Mami said. "I don't have to pretend to like Longchamp anymore. Koyo gets to be the main squeeze of the new Tomaso Ottavo instead of that of the Tomaso underboss." Koyo flashed a smile at that comment as he embraced Pantera, the new Tomaso eighth-generation boss. "We only need one consenting marriage to get the Tomasos to formally join us. Lunga takes the blame for Longchamp's and Mangusta's deaths." The young guitarist in question absently nodded his head in confirmation. "He gets to start his new band in a mental health facility, and the Simon Family will get a cut of the money he makes from his music."

"Mangusta was also very adamant in taking down the Vongola," Enma added. "His death will make future talks and relations with the Vongola run much more smoothly."

"Why the Vongola, then?" Adel questioned in disbelief. "The Tomaso Family wasn't actively assisting us when the Flood of Blood incident occurred, but the Vongola Family has only helped us as a means to an end, to find the Mist user for their own retribution. They've helped us in no other way. They've been actively preventing us from finding any trace of Vito's whereabouts!"

Adel's words were very true, but there was one thing she was forgetting. "The last thing Vito told me was to find him when I become the boss," Enma said sternly. He gestured to the macabre scenery around them. "This is me, becoming the boss. Mami and I know for sure that Vito's going to end up as the boss of the Vongola, one way or another. Between the three of us, no one in the world is going to dream of touching our families. Vongola, Simon – we'll be bulletproof."

Call Enma a delusional, hopeful young boy putting too much faith in someone who he hasn't seen for eight years, but no matter what Adel, Enma's other guardians, or his dad might say or think, Vito was his and Mami's brother that looked after them and taught them things no one else could or were willing to do. If mom was still alive –

No. Enma wasn't going to finish that train of thought.

"… I can accept that you and Mami want to pursue affable relations with the Vongola," Adel finally said as she adopted her flat, professional outlook, "but what of your father?"

"Don't worry about him," Mami said with a solemn smile. "Enma and I will plead our case. He'll come around eventually."

"And if he does not?"

"He will," Mami said more confidently. Enma nodded in assent.

Within the hour, the mafia heirs had spruced up the crime scene to make it appear that Lunga had bludgeoned his guitar and various makeshift weapons to murder Longchamp and Mangusta. Enma had subdued Lunga, and Mami had saved Pantera's life, so went the narrative. Adel called up her police contacts to come to the Kozato house and to carry out the investigation. When the Tomaso enforcers arrived at the scene, Pantera played her part at being the sole catatonic Tomaso heir survivor with Koyo trying to be her comforting and supportive boyfriend. All the other Guardians acted as shocked witnesses to the entire event.

The police officers, Tomaso enforcers, and Liquidation Committee patrolmen were still roaming the Kozato house when Enma and Mami took refuge on their house's front porch. They were sharing another round of chocolate milk.

"It was easier than I thought it'd be," Mami suddenly said aloud.

"What was?" Enma asked.

"Fitting someone with concrete shoes and seeing them flop," Mami said. It was a euphemism for killing since discussing the true nature of tonight's murders in a blatant and indiscreet manner would have been idiotic. "Mom always said to appreciate life, but this was... simple to get through."

Mami had a point. Enma had thought the blood would bother him more, but he thankfully kept his cool during the whole ordeal. "It was just business, really," Enma rationalized it. "Longchamp wasn't really your boyfriend, and he and Mangusta weren't really close allies or friends in general. There's not much reason to lament their losses."

After another short silence, Mami stated, "Finding the Mist user who killed mom isn't just business. It's personal."

"Definitely," Enma agreed.

"But once we kill him," Mami began hesitantly, "what are we going to do afterward? Say that we meet up with Vito again, and the Simon and Vongola Families end up working together. Yeah, bulletproof, but what are we supposed to do then, exactly? Just carry on the family business?"

That sounded about right. "We'll be the bosses. We will do whatever it is we want."

Enma had a feeling that wasn't the answer she was looking for. Mami sighed and didn't say anything in reply. She just sat back and sipped her drink.

Maybe Vito would have known what to say. Maybe Mom could have...

No. Enma had to stop doing that.

They had to stop thinking about "what if" and "could have been." They had to focus on "what will be."


	2. Stolen Goods

**Takes place after Chapter 5 of "Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?"**

 **X**

Kyoya was bored.

He was perched on the steps of a small set of bleachers in Namimori Middle's baseball field. The baby's pet chameleon nestled on Kyoya's arm. Snow was everywhere with cool, thick clouds hanging overhead. The baseball field was a disorganized battle ground for all the herbivores to drown their meaningless snow ball fight in.

"No!" shouted the foreign whip wielder as he, trapped in a gigantic snow ball, rolled down a staircase. "I completely missed it!" He barreled into the baseball player, Yamamoto. The two of them were now both stuck in the giant snow ball and effectively out of the game.

"Takeshi!" yelled the female Sasagawa. She popped out of the cover of her snow mound and trekked toward Yamamoto and the whip wielder. "Cover me, Hana!"

"How?" replied the Kurokawa girl. Somehow, she managed to trap herself down into the snow field with only her head above the surface. "I can't move! Get down or you're going to get hit!"

The female Sasagawa did get hit and was incapacitated fairly quickly. The little Chinese girl positioned at the tallest snowy hill was relentless with her attacks. Kyoya mused that she'd be a decent opponent once she grew older, especially if Fon was apparently her sensei.

"Damn it!" the Kurokawa girl swore. Her competitive side was showing. If only her enthusiasm had matched her physical capability and combat prowess. "Hayato! Ryohei and Kyoko are both knocked out. Get back to our team and take out I-Pin!"

"I told you that I was a double agent working for Don Vittorio all along!" The Italian herbivore released another hail of dynamite. Tetsuya's drinking friend, Romario, avoided the explosions and escaped into the snowy mist that followed them.

The poison herbivore dashed in front of the little Chinese girl to deflect the snow balls the boss herbivore threw at her. "That's right, Hana," the boss herbivore teased as he readied another snow volley. "Don't be a sore loser about how I had the foresight to send a spy in your ranks and you didn't."

"I did have the foresight," the Kurokawa girl replied, "except then Takeshi got himself eliminated! What's wrong with you, Takeshi? What good is the star baseball player's throwing arm in a snow ball fight when he can't use it?"

"Sorry!" Yamamoto called out happily. "Can't be helped."

"By the way, guys," the whip wielder added, "it looks like I dropped someone into the snow that was melted by all those dynamite explosions."

A giant turtle suddenly rose from the depths of the snow.

"Ah, what the fuck!" exclaimed the boss herbivore. "Dick move, Dino! Dick move!"

The boss herbivore's little brother, the cub, glanced at the giant turtle and gasped in amazement. "Wow!"

The Italian herbivore began to shake uncontrollably. "Why is the mountain god here? We're nowhere near the forest we went to for the camping trip! Does he have teleporting UMAs under his command?" The cub rambled about numbers and rankings while the Italian clasped his hands together and against his chest. "Stop doing that and start praying!"

As the boss herbivore finally took out the Chines girl with a well-placed snow ball hit, the poison herbivore started sprinting to the Italian herbivore's location. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Run away, Hayato, or you'll get crushed by the mountain god!" The woman removed her goggles, and the Italian herbivore promptly choked and keeled over in pain.

The giant turtle collapsed as well. Just about everybody was buried under him.

Kyoya yawned tiredly. While that last move did a good job in lessening the crowding in the area, it was still another lackluster moment in an overall dull affair. If the baby hadn't asked him to guard the chameleon for the duration of the fight as a favor, Kyoya would be off handling NDC business. There better a good fight awaiting Kyoya after this entire ordeal is over. Otherwise, Kyoya is going to have to double his quota for deaths bitten this week.

Who is he kidding. Kyoya doesn't have a quota for biting people to death. He does his biting at his own leisure. The snow ball fight was so uninteresting that Kyoya was replaying old conversations with Tetsuya in his head.

A few of the herbivores avoided getting squashed by the turtle. Romario was sending a continuous barrage of snow balls at the last two members of the poison herbivore's team: the cow child and the boss herbivore's concubine.

"Don't stop throwing, Romario!" the whip wielder giddily commanded.

"Tsuna!" the concubine shrieked as the cow child wailed with overflowing tears. "Save us!"

"You gonna defect to my team, then, Haru?" the boss herbivore called out from his hiding place over a distant snow ridge. When the only response he received was another panicked yelp, he sighed. "Fine. Let's do this, Fuuta!" The cub and the boss herbivore scampered toward the concubine's position. They jumped and dodged and weaved under more snow projectiles from Romario.

When they finally reached their destination, Romario tossed a humongous snow ball that appeared to explode on impact with the rest of the surviving herbivores. Thinking that he was seeing things, Kyoya rubbed his eyes. Was that supposed to be pinkish, purple smoke emitting from where the big snow ball had hit?

Once the smoke cleared, Kyoya spotted the older cow child grimacing and dusting snowflakes off his person. "So, I've been brought back to the time of our first annual snow fight," he said to himself with a lackadaisical tone. "Man, and I was on a date in the future. My younger self is going to scare her off, too."

The concubine – not aged older – suddenly popped out of the snow like a gopher. She gasped for air as she erratically looked around the snow field. "Tsuna? Tsuna! Where are you? Are you okay?" A hand burst out of the snow beside the concubine. Kyoya could vaguely here the boss herbivore's muffled groans. The concubine immediately began trying to dig him out.

Another figure pulled himself out of the snow. Kyoya initially didn't recognize him. The newcomer was dressed in grey slacks and a green vest. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were folded up. His hands were enveloped in black leather gloves. He also wore a thick scarf around his neck.

Then Kyoya realized who he was. It was the older version of the boss herbivore's cub.

"Wow," the older cub said in a similar tone his younger self had used when saying the same word. "This is the first time I've visited the past. So, this is Namimori back when we were kids? Look at it all, Lambo! It's barely changed!"

"You get used to it," the older cow child dismissed.

The poison herbivore's voice abruptly rang out. "Romeo!" With that angry, heated declaration, she and the older cow child were gone from the baseball field as a chase ensued.

The older cub laughed. "Man, I forgot how much Bianchi-nee hated how Lambo looked. This is just great! It's like looking through an old photo album, except in 3-D!"

Kyoya noted that Romario slipped beside the giant snow ball trapping the whip wielder. Romario asked, "Should I try going for the chameleon, boss? Or should I take out the rest of the opposing teams? Or maybe I should help free you?"

"Take out the future Ranking Prince, first," the whip wielder suggested. "He might try to interfere if we just ignore him."

The older cub gasped when he saw the giant turtle. "Oh my God! Enzo, is that you?" While the older cub was distracted, Romario tossed a speeding snow ball at him.

Without even looking up, the older cub held up an object to protect himself. The snow ball shattered into a million snowflakes as it made contact with the older cub's tonfa.

A tonfa with a design that resembled Kyoya's own signature weapons.

"Right," the older cub murmured to himself, smiling as he turned toward Romario's direction. "Snow ball fight. Leon's supposed to be the prize, right? Since I'm here, I guess I'll play along."

The older club closed the distance between himself and Romario in seconds. Deflecting further snow projectiles with his tonfa, the older club finished off his assault with a cross to Romario's face. The impact sent Romario into the same giant snow ball holding Yamamoto and the whip wielder. The latter two yelped as their ball started rolling down a small snowy cliff with Romario in tow.

"Sorry!" the older cub shouted to them over their screams. "Now, if I remember it right, the one who's in charge of guarding Leon is supposed to be..." He turned his head and made eye contact with Kyoya.

That was a taunting smirk the older cub was sending him. Kyoya has never fought anyone from the future. Perhaps this new herbivore can bear a challenge and entertainment that the rest of his crowding herbivores lacked in providing.

Kyoya nudged the chameleon on his arm. "Don't get in the way," he told the animal. It changed shape into an armband on the arm opposite the one holding Kyoya's NDC armband.

Wordlessly, Kyoya and older cub charged at each other. The resounding clang that echoed once their tonfas hit one another was a gratifying sound. It meant the older cub could handle the weight of Kyoya's weapon and the strength behind it. As such, Kyoya pulled out his second tonfa and went on the offensive.

The pair exchanged blows. Kyoya pushed the older club back, but it seemed as if the cub was letting that happen. He chose to remain on the defensive, dodging and weaving, and let Kyoya exert himself. Still, the playfulness of the cub's smirk wavered as sweat started to drip down his temple. The cub's overconfidence waned as his nervousness increased.

"Hey, now, Kyoya," the older cub said, and Kyoya felt his eye twitch. "You don't have to be so intense about this. It's just a game."

Kyoya slammed the edge of his left tonfa right into the cub's gut. As the cub gasped and fell forward, Kyoya dropped his right tonfa onto the cub's back. The cub dropped to his knees, his imitation tonfa getting kicked out of his grasp by Kyoya.

With the exception of his family and Tetsuya, no one was allowed to refer to Kyoya so casually by his first name.

"I thought you would be a strong fighter," Kyoya said, "but from the way you moved, you only recently learned how to fight with a tonfa."

The older cub – no, not a cub. This was more an adolescent herbivore – grunted as he forced a polite smile through the pain. "Is it that obvious?"

Kyoya wasn't quite sure whether the adolescent had honestly thought that he could hide his inexperience or whether he was trying to taunt Kyoya. Either way, Kyoya hit him again, this time on the head. Surprisingly, the adolescent took the hit without keeling over. His skull was thicker than Kyoya had thought.

The adolescent snickered. "You know something, Hibari?" he asked. "In terms of raw strength, you've always consistently ranked highest out of all of us. It's because of that that Vito made you my primary caretaker here in Japan after he and most of the others moved to Italy."

What impossible scenario was this herbivore talking about? Kyoya Hibari didn't nurture or care for cubs, and it was unlikely he'd start doing so as he matured and got older. There would be too many NDC matters and crowds to be bitten to occupy his time.

"But as for your capability in tutoring," the adolescent went on, "you ranked the lowest. That's partly why you've only recently started to teach me how to use a tonfa. However, Vito and all of the other Guardians were ranked at decent enough levels for them to show me a few things over the years." Slowly, the adolescent raised his hand. His fingers were poised to give a snap. "Ten years from now, I rank highest in adaptability. People stopped calling me the Ranking Prince after I hung up my ranking book. These days, I go by my new moniker: the Star Jackal."

When the adolescent snapped his fingers, he sparked a short flame. Kyoya widened his eyes when he saw the fire follow an invisible wire into the snow. This was when Kyoya realized that the adolescent had pushed their fight to where the Italian herbivore had dropped his unused dynamite sticks after he had lost consciousness earlier.

The explosions were almost instantaneous. The adolescent must have used some sort of accelerant to swiftly burn up the dynamites' fuses. A circular uproar of snow rose into the air and surrounded Kyoya. He readied his tonfas and waited for the adolescent to make his presumed surprise attack amidst the chaos.

Kyoya saw something green moving through the snowflakes. He lunged and thrust his tonfa at it. Kyoya found out too late that it was just the adolescent's forsaken scarf fluttering in the soft breeze. Turning around, his tonfa blocked a punch from the adolescent that nearly hit Kyoya's cheek.

The jackal had a renewed smirk on his face. Kyoya recognized the stance he was using. The way his fists were held up with his knees bent slightly and his elbows tucked in were all aspects of a boxer. The male Sasagawa boxer's usual boxing stance, no less.

The male Sasagawa, for all of his nonsensical screams and dense mindset, tended to deliver powerful punches at key moments of vulnerability to defeat his opponents. Of course, all of Kyoya's attacks were more than powerful enough to overwhelm the boxer before he had the chance to do anything more than the basic barrage of punches. The jackal, on the other hand, was more apt at evading the Kyoya's attacks than the male Sasagawa. Still, if the jackal believed he could tire out Kyoya with the persistent dodging, then he was sorely mistaken.

The jackal tried to surprise Kyoya by kicking his leg out at him, but Kyoya easily parried it. As the jackal drew back another fist, Kyoya did the same with his tonfa opposite the jackal's hand. They each thrust their choices of weapon forward, Kyoya intending to shatter all the bones in the jackal's hand. However, instead of colliding with the jackal's knuckles, he caught Kyoya's tonfa against his palm. With his grip secure, the jackal tossed Kyoya over his shoulder.

After flying a good distance, Kyoya regained his sense of balance and forced himself to land. His feet slid against the uneven floor and made two long indentations in the snow. Looking up, Kyoya saw the jackal fiddling with Yamamoto's duffle bag near the bleachers. Kyoya charged him again. This time, the jackal used Yamamoto's baseball bat to defend himself.

While doing a fair job in mimicking the male Sasagawa, the jackal failed to resemble Yamamoto's fighting style. Yamamoto always swung his weapon like the baseball player he was, yet the jackal used the bat more creatively. His hands weren't limited to the handle. He applied pressure to the bat's barrel to better push back against the crushing weight of one of Kyoya's pummels. He held the bat one-handed as a distraction to throw a sucker punch at Kyoya's side. The jackal even slimmed the end of the bat along the floor and brought the bat upward to kick snow towards Kyoya's eyes in an attempt to blind him.

The only tactic that the jackal employed that truly caught Kyoya off-guard was the swing of the bat that Kyoya blocked with a tonfa. The swing was much harsher and faster than the other swings. Though Kyoya put plenty of his own pressure against his tonfa, the bat continued to follow its course. Then, in a span of time so short that Kyoya barely noticed it, the bat transformed into a sword. The blade managed to draw blood along Kyoya's left cheek and ear before Kyoya managed to shove the sword away.

Finally, Kyoya allowed himself to mirror the jackal's smirk with his own fervent leer. Most of Kyoya's noteworthy opponents in the past were school club captains or herbivorous crime bosses who specialized in one particular weapon or combat strategy. The male Sasagawa had his boxing, the latest Momokyokai Yakuza head had a liking for twin sai, and the boss herbivore had his fists and his gun. Meanwhile, the jackal was more than proficient in utilizing different techniques and flawlessly transitioning between them. From the tonfa, to the boxing, to the sword; this was a fight that was more than making up for boredom Kyoya suffered through during the snow ball fight.

Trapping the sword between his tonfas, Kyoya snapped the blade into two. The jackal backed away and flung his half of the sword at him. Kyoya whacked it away and rammed a hit into the side of the jackal's knee. The jackal winced, and he gasped in pain when Kyoya hit him again on the head. Sidestepping the next attack, the jackal got behind Kyoya. As Kyoya turned to face him, the jackal placed a hand on Kyoya's shoulder. The jackal pushed down on the NDC head in order help propel himself up in the air over Kyoya.

Still flying in mid-air, the jackal reached into the back of his pants and pulled out a handgun.

Kyoya recognized this move. It was the same one the boss herbivore had used when he first defeated Kyoya. The maneuver was simple. Kyoya's attention is drawn to the reveal of a firearm. As Kyoya knocks the pistol out of his opponent's hand, the opponent's other hand has already formed a fist and is well on its way force Kyoya's face. The fist suddenly blindsides Kyoya with no hesitation. During the fight with the boss herbivore, Kyoya was sufficiently drained prior to that moment to be thusly knocked out. For this fight, however, Kyoya was ready.

While the jackal was successful in prompting Kyoya to disarm him and to shove the gun away, the jackal's follow-up punch failed as Kyoya met it with his tonfa. The satisfying sound of shattering bone was Kyoya's gift for his efforts.

The jackal lost his playful smile as he bit his lip. A tear began to trail from his eye down his reddened face. Seeking space for himself, the jackal kicked off of Kyoya's tonfas so that the two fighters were standing apart from one another. Kyoya allowed himself time to breath while the jackal nursed his broken hand.

"Jeez, Hibari," the jackal grunted. "I'm surprised you're still so eager to keep going like this. The Hibari from my time probably would have already knocked me out or simply dismissed me for being an inadequate foe able to keep up with him, but the you from this time must be having too much fun to stop now."

The jackal wasn't wrong. Kyoya was enjoying this fight very much. There would likely still be some time until the jackal is properly bitten to death.

"Honestly," the jackal said with a sigh, "the more I think about it, the more I can't believe how you managed to relax and mellow out in the future. I mean, in comparison to the way you are now. I guess your wife really made an impact on you."

Kyoya had a mate in the future?

Irrelevant information. Whether or not some mate tries to tame him in some faraway and foreign timeline, the here and now of this exhilarating fight was all that mattered. Kyoya readied himself again to begin the next round of pummeling the jackal with tonfa strikes until he was brought to his knees.

"I probably don't have much time left, now," the jackal mused. He reached into the pockets of his vest and pulled out a few thin poles about the length of his thigh. He connected them together and topped the end of the now longer pole with a three-bladed prong. "Since this is the first annual snow ball fight, I guess you haven't met the last Guardians yet. Regardless, I don't think a little sneak peek for what's in store for your future will hurt."

Kyoya and the jackal stormed across the snow, ready and eager to meet each other in the zeal and fervor of combat, Kyoya's favored tonfas against the jackal's spear-like weapon.

Unfortunately, the jackal exploded into the same pink smoke from before. Shooting out of the mist was the original cub. He was screaming in terror as the momentum from the jackal's run drove him forward.

Halting his own rush, Kyoya slowed to a stop and lowered his tonfas. The cub was a cub, so herbivore or not, Kyoya had no desire to bite him to death unless he purposefully crowds or breaks Namimori Middle law without any sanctions from the Disciplinary Committee.

The cub hit Kyoya flatly in the chest. Kyoya let himself fall back to the ground. His jacket cushioned the fall. While Kyoya quietly sighed in disappointment at the disappearance of the jackal, the cub looked around his surroundings with some confusion.

"I'm back in the present?" the cub asked himself. "But I wanted to try Adel-oba-san's tea..." The cub soon realized that he was sitting atop Kyoya. Moving quickly, the cub snatched the chameleon armband off of Kyoya and ran away. "I got Leon! Tsuna-nii! Tsuna-nii! Look!" The cub stopped short as he watched the concubine still struggling to dig out the boss herbivore. The boss herbivore's arm was mostly freed now, and it gave a thumbs-up to the cub, prompting a proud smile to widen across his face.

Kyoya observed without a word as the baby arrived. After dropkicking the boss herbivore's hand, the baby congratulated the cub on a job well done.

The baby was speaking truthfully when he had said that strong fighters would come to Namimori as time passed. The jackal was a member of the boss herbivore's, herd as well.

Tetsuya keeps advocating for the complete destruction of the boss herbivore's criminal organization, but if more invigorating combatants continue to flock to Namimori because of the boss herbivore's activities and the baby's tutorship over him, Kyoya will stay his hands for now.

Let them crowd to Namimori by the droves, and Kyoya Hibari will bite all of them to death. The jackal, the boss herbivore, and anyone else who sees fit to step into Hibari's home territory.


	3. The Privileged Die Slow

**A timeline of events before and during "Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?" Read only after being caught up to Chapter 12 of the main story.**

 **X**

 _ **Cosa Nostra Era**_

1820: January 1st – Giotto Vongola is born in Sicily, Italy.

1834: Giotto's younger brother Ricardo is born.

1835: Cozarto Simon, G, and Giotto first meet and quickly become good friends.

1841: **Founding of the Vongola:** Sepira gifts Giotto seven rings that would later be known as the Vongola Rings. The Vongola, Simon, and Giglio Nero Families are formally established as protectors of the Tri-Ni-Set and benign vigilantes for the local Italian communities.

1848: **The Ghost War:** The Vongola, Simon, and Giglio Nero Families go to war against the ruling House of Bourbon and other opponents occupying Sicily. Elena Spade is killed during the war. Daemon Spade and Giotto become estranged with one another after the conflict, though Daemon remains as Giotto's Mist Guardian to uphold Elena's dying wishes.

1860: Daemon orchestrates a conspiracy to kill Cozarto in order to cripple the Simon Family and to compel them to submit as underlings to the Vongola. Giotto catches on to the conspiracy and prevents Cozarto's death. Jaded and weary of the constant fighting throughout the years, Cozarto decides to retire and leads the remnants of the Simon Family into hiding to live a more peaceful life. His survival is kept a secret from Daemon as Giotto requires his Guardian's assistance in further coming wars.

1861: **Mafioso-Camorra Clan Wars:** Together, the Vongola and Giglio Nero Families fight over territory and authority across Italy against the criminal Camorra clans. While the Camorra are defeated, the Vongola's ferocious and bloody victories inspire some to fear the Vongola Family's iron fist rather than to welcome their protection with gratitude.

1862: Giotto steps down from the position of Boss of the Vongola Family. _Ricardo Vongola at age 28 formally becomes the Vongola Secondo._ When Daemon joins Ricardo as his Mist Guardian, Giotto asks Alaude to establish CEDEF to help check the powers and expansion of the main Vongola branch. Inspired by Ugetsu Asari's and Cozarto's suggestions, Giotto retires to Japan.

1868: Under his new name of Ieyasu Sawada, Giotto has a son named Yoshimune.

 _ **Vongola Crime Era**_

1869: Marco Vongola is born as Ricardo's only son.

1870: Having taken control of most of Europe criminal underground, the Vongola Crime Family begins seriously expanding its operations in other areas of the world.

1871: Claudia Vongola is born as Ricardo's only daughter.

1883: **Chiavarone-Vongola Massacre:** Ricardo and most of his Guardians are gunned down alongside other high-ranking mobsters by rival mafia members. _Marco Vongola at age 14 formally becomes the Vongola Terzo._

1887: Simora Vongola is born as Claudia's son.

1890: Fraternal twins Antonio and Gilberto Vongola are born as Marco's sons.

1908: Fabio Vongola is born as Simora's son.

1910: **Vongola Succession Crisis:** Marco unexpectedly suffers a heart attack and dies. Simora refuses the crime boss position as he devotes himself to a civilian lifestyle and a career in academics. Gilberto is bedridden in Russia after a failed assassination attempt on his life. Though initially reluctant, _Antonio Vongola at age 20 formally becomes the Vongola Quarto._

1916: **Disappearance of Vongola Quarto:** The fighting of World War I disrupts mafia activities. Antonio's best friend, the heir to the Bovino Family at the time, is drafted into the war. When Antonio tries to fake his friend's death to get him out of the front lines, the both of them are unfortunately captured as prisoners of war. Antonio is presumed dead. Since the Vongola Family required leadership in the midst of a war in their home country, _Gilberto at age 26 formally becomes the Vongola Quinto._

1918: Antonio returns home after the war. He allows Gilberto to remain the boss without complaint. Antonio joins CEDEF and later becomes a world-renowned chef.

1925: Daniella Vongola is born as Fabio's daughter.

1926: **The Arcobaleno Hunt:** Gilberto is assassinated by the current incarnation of the Arcobaleno. After being persuaded by Antonio, _Simora at age 39 formally becomes the Vongola Sesto._ Simora initiates a purge against the Arcobaleno. The Vongola Family come into conflict with the Giglio Nero Family, whose boss at the time felt passionately obligated to safeguard the lives of all Tri-Ni-Set holders. While negotiations are successful in ending the hunt and restoring peace between the mob families, the Vongola and Giglio Nero remain tense with one another, dissimilar to the close relations their predecessors had once shared.

1939: Timoteo Vongola is born as the son of Daniella Vongola. With fighting breaking out with the beginning of World War II, Fabio sends her and Timoteo to America for their safety.

1940: Simora Vongola is betrayed by business partner Benito Mussolini and murdered. _Fabio at age 32 formally becomes the Vongola Settimo_. Swearing vengeance, the Vongola Family joins the Allied Powers against Italy.

1946: Fabio is assassinated. _Daniella Vongola at age 21 formally becomes the Vongola Ottavo._

 _ **Killer Reborn Era**_

1967: July 17th – Henry Tomasino is reborn as Federico of the Vongola Crime Family.

1970: Aria of the Giglio Nero Crime Family is born.

1971: June 15th – Iemitsu Sawada is born.

1974: The Vongola Ottavo, Daniella, steps down from her boss position. _Timoteo Vongola at age 35 formally becomes the Vongola Nono._

1975: March 31st – Nana is born.

1978: October 10th – Xanxus is born.

1981: While on a hit contract, an Adult Reborn watches as Henry at age 14 find the target first. Henry commits his first kill of his reincarnated life. When the victim's family members kidnap Henry and his teenage accomplices in retaliation, Reborn rescues them. Soon afterward, Timoteo hires Reborn as Henry's personal home tutor.

1985: Xanxus at age 7 is adopted by Timoteo Vongola. Timoteo's blood sons Enrico and Massimo are dismissive of Xanxus, so Henry is left the brunt of the responsibility to look after Xanxus whenever Timoteo is too busy handling the family business. Xanxus and Henry inevitably grow close with one another over the years.

1987: February 4th – Dino Cavallone of the Chiavarone Crime Family is born.

1988: Henry and Aria meet one another by chance when they shadow Reborn and Luce on a private Arcobaleno mission. Henry and Aria soon begin a romantic relationship.

1990: **Vongola v. Tomaso:** Henry takes a contract to assassinate a member of the Tomaso Crime Family in Namimori, Japan. During his mission, Henry meets Iemitsu. The two strike up a friendship. Once the contract is successfully complete thanks to essential help from Iemitsu, Henry introduces him to Timoteo. Impressed by his efforts, Timoteo allows Iemitsu to formally join CEDEF.

1992: When Aria unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she and Henry contemplate leaving the mafia. With Reborn promising to help them fake their deaths, they commit to their dreams of living normal lives. However, Timoteo is well aware of their intentions. Not wanting to lose his favorite candidate for the Vongola Decimo title or to disrupt the long-held tradition of keeping the Vongola and Giglio Nero bloodlines separate, Timoteo hires Shamal to cause Aria to have a miscarriage.

Under Timoteo's orders, Aria and Henry break off their relationship and resume their roles in their respective crime families. Henry remains vindictive and distant with Timoteo.

1994: **Vongola Civil War:** On the same day of the marriage between Nana and Iemitsu Sawada, Henry initiates a rebellion against Timoteo's rule over the Vongola. In the final battle of the civil war, Henry defeats Timoteo in combat, but Reborn prevents the maimed and weakened Henry from landing the killing blow. Henry sets off a bomb in an attempt to kill them all. Reborn and Timoteo survive. The remains of Henry's bones are found and used to confirm his death.

 _ **Tenth Generation Era**_

1995: July 23rd – Joe Barbaro is reborn as Basil in Italy.

October 14th – Vittorio "Vito" Antonio Scaletta is reborn as Tsunayoshi Sawada.

December – **The Fated Day:** Reborn and the rest of the current Arcobaleno candidates of the time, plus Colonnello, are transformed into toddlers and given their respective pacifiers. With Shamal owing a very heavy debt to Reborn, Reborn has him erase all records of his adult self so that the infant Reborn can begin a new hitman career with a relatively clean slate.

1999: January 11th – Fuuta de la Stella is born.

2000: Reborn becomes 13-year-old Dino's home tutor.

2001: Timoteo visits the Sawada family. Upon Iemitsu's request, Timoteo places a seal on Vito to lock away his Sky Flames. Recognizing that Vito retains memories from another life, Timoteo also attempts to seal away those memories. However, interference from Tsuna's soul allows Vito's mind and past memories to remain dominant while Tsuna's personality is locked away behind the seal. Tsuna is confined to being a silent observer of Vito's life.

2002: October 14th – Haunted by memories of his old life, Vito runs away from home. Before long, he is adopted by Makoto Kozato, the current boss of the Simon Crime Family. While Iemitsu leads the search for his son, Makoto ensures Vito's true identity of Tsunayoshi Sawada is kept hidden. Living in the Kozato house, Vito grows close with his new siblings, Enma and Mami, and his newest mother, Magi.

November – **Cradle Affair:** With CEDEF distracted with Tsuna's search, Xanxus leads his own coup with the Varia against Timoteo. By the end of the incident, Timoteo entraps Xanxus in ice conjured from the Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition technique. Iemitsu is forced to give up time on searching for Tsuna in order to investigate and eliminate any further remaining usurpers and mutineers like Xanxus and Henry within the Vongola.

2003: April – **Flood of Blood:** A mysterious illusionist slaughters several CEDEF agents and attempts to murder the Kozato family to instigate a war between the Vongola and Simon Families. Magi Kozato is killed. Makoto Kozato overpowers the illusionist and forces him to retreat. Makoto agrees to work with CEDEF to track down the fugitive, but in return for the Vongola's help, Vito is returned to Iemitsu's guardianship.

July – Joe is kidnapped by human traffickers en route to Rome. Iemitsu and a CEDEF team assault the traffickers and free their captives. Lal Mirch and Iemitsu become Joe's informal guardians as he joins CEDEF.

2005: January 15th – Aria gives birth to a daughter, Yuni.

2009: By Vito's 14th birthday, he has become the head of a sizable gang, informally known as "Vito's crew", in Namimori, its strength and influence rivaling the Momokyokai Yakuza and the Namimori Disciplinary Committee.

2010: April – **Daily Life Arc:** With the untimely death of Enrico Vongola, Reborn arrives in Namimori to become Vito's home tutor. Whenever Reborn shoots Vito with the Dying Will Bullet, the effects of the seal Nono had placed is briefly nullified. This allows Tsuna temporary control over his and Vito's shared body. As such, it is Tsuna's dying wish that is carried out whenever Vito enters Dying Will Mode instead of Vito's.

September – **Kokuyo Turf War:** The Kokuyo Gang attack and severely injure several members of Vito's gang and the NDC. Mukuro Rokudo orchestrates the kidnapping of Fuuta. Vito leads a team to assault the Kokuyo Gang. In the process, Vito's seal is briefly weakened when Mukuro attempts to possess him. Mukuro is overwhelmed by Vito's memories while Vito shares a brief conversation with Tsuna within their shared mindscape. By the end of the turf war, Mukuro is defeated as Vito as unlocks Hyper Dying Will Mode and gains a new animal companion: Brasi the bulldog. While Tsuna's consciousness is locked away again, the seal remains weakened.

November – **Vongola Ring Conflict:** Henry resurfaces, having survived his attempted suicide bombing, and discreetly frees Xanxus from his frozen ice prison. The two develop a new plan to take over the Vongola and the mafia world at large. Henry secretly incapacitates Timoteo and poses as him to begin the Ring Conflict. They intend for Xanxus to become the Vongola Decimo. Later, they plan for Henry to assume leadership of the Giglio Nero Crime Family.

Vito and Joe reunite and train together in preparation for the Ring Battles. When Timoteo removes Vito's seal to unlock his latent Sky Flames, Tsuna's personality is also freed. Vito's fighting prowess and Hyper Intuition have increased in strength and accuracy, but Vito and Tsuna briefly struggle for dominance during a few moments in the Sky Battle. After Vito and Tsuna defeat Xanxus, Henry appears and attempts to persuade Vito and Joe to join him against the current Vongola leadership.

Henry admits to wanting to kill Iemitsu, Lal, and Reborn for their inaction and/or ignorance when Timoteo ordered the death of Henry's and Aria's child, and for siding with Timoteo during the Vongola Civil War. Ultimately, Vito and Joe refuse. Eventually, Vito lands a crippling blow on Henry. When Henry's unique Flames allow him to heal his injuries and remotely restrain Vito and Joe for easy kills, Iemitsu and Reborn step in and execute Henry.

A celebration is had for Vito's victory in the Ring Conflict and his official inheritance of the Vongola Boss title as Decimo. However, Vito is suddenly hit by a rocket with pink smoke reminiscent of the Ten Year Bazooka. Once the smoke clears, Vito's mind and consciousness have disappeared, leaving only Tsuna in control.


End file.
